Winnovation robotics run ends in quarterfinals

Winnebago's Winnovation robotics team was the top finisher among four local teams in a FIRST Robotics regional in Milwaukee this weekend.

Winnovation went 9-0-1 in 10 qualifying matches this weekend at U.S. Cellular Arena to be one of the top three teams qualifying for the elimination round.

Winnovation then drafted teams from Appleton and Milwaukee for the elimination matches. The alliance though won one and lost two and was eliminated in the quarterfinals.

In FIRST Robotics, students must design and build a robot to perform specific tasks in competition. The teams this past weekend were trying to qualify for the FIRST Robotics championship event at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis from April 23-26.

"We faced some really good defense," Winnovation team coordinator Karen Hill said. "There also were some fouls that weren't called, but it's like basketball. You can't play it over."

Rockton Stateline Robotics and the Freeport Metalheads each went 5-5 in qualifying. Rockton finished 26th out of the 60 teams and Freeport was 34th.

Rockford Robotics, which narrowly missed qualifying for St. Louis in February when it finished second in a regional in Pekin, didn't fare as well this time, going 3-7 to finish 48th.

Winnovation and the Belvidere Flaming Monkeys each have one more chance to qualify for the late April championships. Those two teams are entered in the FIRST Robotics Chicago regional that runs from April 3-5.

-- By Alex Gary

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